Best/Worst Car You've Owned?

[GVan]

Worst Car was a gift from my Grandfather while I was in college - a Dodge Coronet 440.  Had a 44 Hemi that was a gas guzzler, no power steering, no power brakes and over 100K miles.  A real beast to drive but it was free.  My wife got rear ended which bent the frame and totaled the car -- all that Detroit heavy metal meant she didn't feel anything! 

 

Best Car - the one I always wanted and I still own her - a 2008 Bentley GTC.  I picked every stitch of leather and the Olive Ash wood veneers - Sapphire metallic blue paint (that does look black in certain light) and Saffron leather interior with Sapphire blue highlights and stitching.  Took almost two years to wait for her to be built and delivered.  A 2008 with only 31K miles to this day.  Really enjoy driving as she's the V-12, all wheel drive, 586 hp version.  The kid's will have to decide what to do with her when I'm gone -- hopefully a long-time from now!

 

 

 

 

 

[BrightonCorgi]

22 minutes ago, GVan said:

Best Car - the one I always wanted and I still own her - a 2008 Bentley GTC.  I picked every stitch of leather and the Olive Ash wood veneers - Sapphire metallic blue paint (that does look black in certain light) and Saffron leather interior with Sapphire blue highlights and stitching.  Took almost two years to wait for her to be built and delivered.  A 2008 with only 31K miles to this day.  Really enjoy driving as she's the V-12, all wheel drive, 586 hp version.  The kid's will have to decide what to do with her when I'm gone -- hopefully a long-time from now!

 

Any interior pics?

[GVan]

12 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Any interior pics?

Will do as soon as I can get her in the driveway - tree trimmers are here working.

[GVan]

Per @BrightonCorgi 's request.  Pardon the driver's seat looks a little dingy - it is a matching color seat cover to keep it clean from my golf cloths!  Also, the stiching doesn't really show in the pictures - it has double French seams in the contrasting color.  I try hard to keep her in perfect condition.  Only hand washed and waxed (by me).  Worked with the Crewe, England team on the wood inserts but, it was the Bentley craftsman's final say on what exact veneers went into the car -- I was told that he liked my choices so, I got the best veneers he had.  (Good sales pitch at least).

[inter4alia]

32 minutes ago, GVan said:

Per @BrightonCorgi 's request.  Pardon the driver's seat looks a little dingy - it is a matching color seat cover to keep it clean from my golf cloths!  Also, the stiching doesn't really show in the pictures - it has double French seams in the contrasting color.  I try hard to keep her in perfect condition.  Only hand washed and waxed (by me).  Worked with the Crewe, England team on the wood inserts but, it was the Bentley craftsman's final say on what exact veneers went into the car -- I was told that he liked my choices so, I got the best veneers he had.  (Good sales pitch at least).

Outstanding car. Thanks for sharing and I hope you enjoy the hell out of it! 

[TheCigarslayer]

Best car? Ford Mustang GT. This car sounded amazing, drove great and was very comfy. Racked up 26k miles in a hair over a year. Took me all over the east coast for work and for fun. Never gave me issues and was a blast! 

Split on best and worst. Probably the one I owned the shortest. Porsche 718S. Amazingly fast, and an experience every time I drove it. Also sucked as a "car". Also caught too much attention for me. 

Worst? My Jeep project. It's been my boat on land. Love it when Im using it but constantly pouring money into it, neglecting it, plauged with issues, go back to loving it, then to hating it. It's like that ex that won't leave but you still have flings for. 

 

[MetBran]

To  be honest I never thought about this things, usually I don't consider a car bad, but I can say that I had a bad one that destroyed me. It was an 2014 Range Rover Vogue Autobiography, it is a great car, looks good and I loved it, but at least once a week I was repairing it at official dealer and I was super angry that days. Then I sold it and I was thinking about another car but I couldn't decide. Once I went to Ukraine and I rented an S500 from narscars.com.ua and I really like it to be honest. When I returned to my country, I ordered a 63 AMG from the official dealer, now I am still driving it and have no problems.

[SigmundChurchill]

On 7/14/2020 at 10:28 PM, Gonz said:

'02 Mercedes G500 - Simultaneously the best and worst car I've ever owned.  Had some great times in it, tons of fun off-road doing what it was designed for.  At the same time it had all kinds of issues and things breaking on it, from window motors to nav system.  Part of the problem was that I was living 5 hours from the closest dealer, and no shop in town wanted anything to do with it.

 

 

 

Now, for simply the best car I've owned, that's hands down my '99 BMW M3.  Pure fun, one of the best handling cars ever made, and it's been an awesome bonding experience for my 17 year old and me.

 

Funny, I came on this thread to post the exact opposite.  My best is my current G550, and my worst was an M3.  

The M3 was a lot of fun to drive, when the pavement was smooth.  Terrible on rough pavement.  And I lived in Hoboken, NJ at the time, which is full of potholes.  With those low profile, run-flat tires, I had 7 tire replacements in the 3 years I had the car.  It was a huge inconvenience.

In truth, the actual best car I owned for driving purposes, was my Mercedes 500S.  The thing felt like you were floating above the ground, and it saved me from a really close call once when someone made a left turn right in front of me while I was driving at 50MPH.   The car basically took over and avoided the accident.  But I give my G550 the edge over the 500S, for uniqueness/rarety/wow factor.

[SigmundChurchill]

On 8/13/2020 at 1:32 PM, GVan said:

Best Car - the one I always wanted and I still own her - a 2008 Bentley GTC.  I picked every stitch of leather and the Olive Ash wood veneers - Sapphire metallic blue paint (that does look black in certain light) and Saffron leather interior with Sapphire blue highlights and stitching.  Took almost two years to wait for her to be built and delivered.  A 2008 with only 31K miles to this day.  Really enjoy driving as she's the V-12, all wheel drive, 586 hp version.  The kid's will have to decide what to do with her when I'm gone -- hopefully a long-time from now!

 

 

 

 

 

I have considered Bentley in the past, but the maintenance always scared me off.  Not that Mercedes wins any prizes for maintenance cost either, but is it as bad as they say it is?  

[GVan]

48 minutes ago, SigmundChurchill said:

I have considered Bentley in the past, but the maintenance always scared me off.  Not that Mercedes wins any prizes for maintenance cost either, but is it as bad as they say it is?  

Yes and no - I'm lucky and have a very good one.  She only leaves the garage on nice days as evidenced by a 2008 with 32 K miles on her.  For the first 10 years -- never saw the dealer for any maintenance at all except oil changes.  She has a dry sump in the W-12 cylinder which means 13.25 quarts of oil.  So, the first oil change was $500 at the dealer (ouch)!  After that I figured out where to get the German Oil filters and take her to a local shop which still costs $240 with 14 quarts of Mobil 1.  Last year, I had an issue with the soft top - again found someone in CA that could get the exact German material and redo the top in original condition for half what the dealer wanted - still cost $8000 for a new top (Dealer quoted $17K but I'm sure it would have cost more by the time I got the bill).  She still has the original brakes, has had ~ 10 oil changes, one set of new tires and the new soft top -- not bad for a 12 year old British car!

I know that you are also a "car guy" -- So, after the original purchase price (which I admit is ridiculous) I've averaged under $1000 per year in maintenance costs which really is low for a Bentley.  If I factor in depreciation (and forget the cost of $ to keep this simple); I've had tremendous enjoyment for ~ $14 K / year.  Compare this to my other cars and I know it's double to triple the average annual cost but, I always wanted a Bentley GTC and wouldn't trade her for anything else!  

Interestingly, my second favorite vehicle of all time was a 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon.  I never kept track of my annual expenses with her, but at the time, it was clearly the most expensive maintenance vehicle and always needed something.  The Jeep was in the shop more than the Bentley.  I used to joke with friends that I very much liked the extremes between driving the Jeep and the Bentley!  Right now I'm debating about adding another vehicle - it's between a new Jeep Rubicon (rumored to feature a V8 next year) and the Ram 4x4 Laramie 1500.

[Paladin865]

On 8/13/2020 at 1:32 PM, GVan said:

Worst Car was a gift from my Grandfather while I was in college - a Dodge Coronet 440.  Had a 44 Hemi that was a gas guzzler, no power steering, no power brakes and over 100K miles.  A real beast to drive but it was free.  My wife got rear ended which bent the frame and totaled the car -- all that Detroit heavy metal meant she didn't feel anything! 

 

Best Car - the one I always wanted and I still own her - a 2008 Bentley GTC.  I picked every stitch of leather and the Olive Ash wood veneers - Sapphire metallic blue paint (that does look black in certain light) and Saffron leather interior with Sapphire blue highlights and stitching.  Took almost two years to wait for her to be built and delivered.  A 2008 with only 31K miles to this day.  Really enjoy driving as she's the V-12, all wheel drive, 586 hp version.  The kid's will have to decide what to do with her when I'm gone -- hopefully a long-time from now!

 

 

 

 

 

Was the Dodge a 63 or 64?

[Paladin865]

Of the many vehicles I had own. Currently I drive a 96 Honda Accord. I bought it for $1000 with 91k original on it. It is currently at 139000 + on it. The worst vehicle, a 95 Ford Thunderbird, a total crap storm. I owned. 87 Dodge Ramcharger with a 318ci engine and a 4 in lift kit on it. That was my best 4x4.

[BrightonCorgi]

1 hour ago, GVan said:

 She has a dry sump in the W-12 cylinder which means 13.25 quarts of oil.  So, the first oil change was $500 at the dealer (ouch)!  After that I figured out where to get the German Oil filters and take her to a local shop which still costs $240 with 14 quarts of Mobil 1.

An annual inspection, brake fluid flush, and oil change on my Aston with a similar amount of oil is $1200 at the dealer.  $500 is a great deal!

[SigmundChurchill]

19 hours ago, GVan said:

Yes and no - I'm lucky and have a very good one.  She only leaves the garage on nice days as evidenced by a 2008 with 32 K miles on her.  For the first 10 years -- never saw the dealer for any maintenance at all except oil changes.  She has a dry sump in the W-12 cylinder which means 13.25 quarts of oil.  So, the first oil change was $500 at the dealer (ouch)!  After that I figured out where to get the German Oil filters and take her to a local shop which still costs $240 with 14 quarts of Mobil 1.  Last year, I had an issue with the soft top - again found someone in CA that could get the exact German material and redo the top in original condition for half what the dealer wanted - still cost $8000 for a new top (Dealer quoted $17K but I'm sure it would have cost more by the time I got the bill).  She still has the original brakes, has had ~ 10 oil changes, one set of new tires and the new soft top -- not bad for a 12 year old British car!

I know that you are also a "car guy" -- So, after the original purchase price (which I admit is ridiculous) I've averaged under $1000 per year in maintenance costs which really is low for a Bentley.  If I factor in depreciation (and forget the cost of $ to keep this simple); I've had tremendous enjoyment for ~ $14 K / year.  Compare this to my other cars and I know it's double to triple the average annual cost but, I always wanted a Bentley GTC and wouldn't trade her for anything else!  

Interestingly, my second favorite vehicle of all time was a 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon.  I never kept track of my annual expenses with her, but at the time, it was clearly the most expensive maintenance vehicle and always needed something.  The Jeep was in the shop more than the Bentley.  I used to joke with friends that I very much liked the extremes between driving the Jeep and the Bentley!  Right now I'm debating about adding another vehicle - it's between a new Jeep Rubicon (rumored to feature a V8 next year) and the Ram 4x4 Laramie 1500.

There's a few new off road vehicles that I find interesting.  The Broncho, the Hummer EV and the LR Defender all seem pretty cool.  If I was in the market, I would condsider all three of them, especially if I could get my hands on the special first edition models.

[mprach024]

Best - 2014 S550, glorious car never had an issue, should have kept it.  Have the GLS now it’s just fine, nothing special but it’s nice.

Worst - hands down was a 2007 BMW 550i.  At least once every 3 months the high pressure fuel pump would blow.  Was a known issue with recalls but no matter how many times they “fixed it”, 3 months later it would blow again.  Pretty sure I drive their loaners more than I drive my car.

[GVan]

7 hours ago, njpinette said:

Was the Dodge a 63 or 64?

1963 

[GVan]

5 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

An annual inspection, brake fluid flush, and oil change on my Aston with a similar amount of oil is $1200 at the dealer.  $500 is a great deal!

Love the look of Aston's!  You are correct - the dealer through in a complete car inspection, air filter and some other small things and the total bill was $1800 by the time I got my car back.  Just the oil was $500 .....

[Habana Mike]

On 7/15/2020 at 6:59 AM, Fuzz said:

J ust

E xpect

E xcessive

P roblems

Reminds me of my Ford Mustang

Fix

Or

Repair

Daily.

Or:

Found 

On

Road

Dead

[BrightonCorgi]

10 hours ago, Habana Mike said:

Reminds me of my Ford Mustang

Fix

Or

Repair

Daily.

Or:

Found 

On

Road

Dead

Not "First on Race Day"?

[SigmundChurchill]

17 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

An annual inspection, brake fluid flush, and oil change on my Aston with a similar amount of oil is $1200 at the dealer.  $500 is a great deal!

With Mercedes, every other year, you have a small servicing to do like the one you are mentioning, and on the opposite years, you have a big servicing.  For the Galendewagen, it is about $700 and $1500 respectively.  But they always find stuff to tack on.  When I brought it in for the last servicing, they said I needed new rear brakes and rotors for an additional $800.   I'm driving around in a 6000 pound tank, shaped like a box, with a biturbo V8 that goes faster than any box seems like it should be able to go with our current understanding of the laws of physics, so the brakes and rotors seem kind of important to me, so it's not like I can afford to argue with them.  

With that in mind, it doesn't seem like these other cars are really that far off in maintenance costs.  I often hear people talking about things like taking apart the entire engine just to change the spark plugs and floating around numbers like $4k or $5k every time they bring the car in.   

 

[mprach024]

1 hour ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Not "First on Race Day"?

Forfeit on Race Day?

[BrightonCorgi]

4 hours ago, SigmundChurchill said:

With Mercedes, every other year, you have a small servicing to do like the one you are mentioning, and on the opposite years, you have a big servicing.  For the Galendewagen, it is about $700 and $1500 respectively.  But they always find stuff to tack on.  When I brought it in for the last servicing, they said I needed new rear brakes and rotors for an additional $800. 

The service manager at the dealer puts it like this, "Even though you paid 50k, 100k...  If the car was quarter million new it will cost to repair like it's a quarter million for the life of the car."  This is true for any brand.  

 

[Baccy]

I came very close to getting a Lexus rcf a while back, then decided to stick with a truck. I'm more of a truck person these days but I still love sports cars as I did in my youth. I also looked into the Lexus LC.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[DilaraLewis]

Your Holden HZ Kingswood sounds like a beast, mate. Kermit the Frog Green and a comfy lounge chair feel? Can't beat that combo. Woman repellent or not, it had character!"Your Holden HZ Kingswood sounds like a beast, mate. Kermit the Frog Green and a comfy lounge chair feel? Can't beat that combo. Woman repellent or not, it had character! Now, let's talk about that not-so-pleasant Audi A4 experience. We've all been there, trying to go snooty and ending up with a steaming pile of trouble. Lesson learned, right? Sometimes those fancy cars just ain't worth the headache. Now, if you wanna transport a car, check out this article on how to transport car to another state.  They have the know-how on how to transport your precious wheels hassle-free. No more steaming piles of trouble, mate.

[Drguano]

I was a bit younger but had lots of fun with my 1967 VW…

Smoking was allowed in this vehicle.